The launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this year rounds out the eighth console generation, as good a time as any to look back on the seven preceding it, in this three part video series by TIME. Some familiar faces offer their insights on the overcrowded "shitshow" that was the fifth console generation.

One of those familiar faces is Stephen Totilo, to whom I am totally not sucking up by posting this just because my annual review is still pending. He, along with Greg Miller of IGN, Scott Rohde of Sony, and Giulio Graziani of Games New York, tell us how we got here, and how the landscape and the players evolved to the current state.

For truly ancient history, part one—covering generations one through four, go here. The final part of this series will release on Thursday.